Amanda Levendowski ’14 argues that copyright law could be the most effective weapon against revenge porn

In an article in the Atlantic, Amanda Levendowski ’14 discusses how copyright law could be used to combat the prevalence of revenge porn on the Internet. Levendowski looks at the recent indictment of Hunter Moore, the creator of a notorious revenge porn website who is being charged under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). Arguing that the CFAA is a poorly-drafted law, problematic due to the vagueness of its terms, Levendowski suggests that, given that 80 percent of photos hosted on sites such as Moore’s are selfies, meaning that the victims own the copyright to their photos, copyright infringement may be a better tool to battle revenge porn.

“A successful prosecution of Moore could have incredible value for victims and activists,” writes Levendowski. “Victims will be able to point to Moore’s case as an example of how 'revenge porn adjacent' crimes can be used to prosecute revenge porn traffickers under existing law.”